Oh baby!

Two pregnant workmates, both due about the same time. So thought I'd try another topsy turvy, and this one is more topsy than my first attempt with the teapot. First, concept drawing using my iPad Autodesk Sketchbook Pro app. Love the app coz it works in layers. First layer is the base cake which is the toy box and teddy. Second layer the alphabet blocks. This way, if the topsy turvy doesn't work, I don't have to erase everything and start over; I simply erase the second layer and do the blocks again.

Toy box cake is a 6" square orange Madeira sponge, layered and covered with dark chocolate ganache. I cut out fondant rectangles to size and made some wood impressions.

Same thing with alphabet blocks in various colours.

Test out the angles...

Would have loved to add more toys and details but I had 2 novelty cakes to make that weekend, so it was quite a rush job.

Oh well, still got eaten!

Cake boulders

What to do with imperfect rustic-looking cake pops? Call them cake boulders and add some crushing effects. LOL.

Birthday monkeys

Sugarpaste monkeys (and coconut trees and coconuts) with curly letters spelling out the words, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY." These can be used as cupcake toppers or to decorate a birthday cake. 

Here're some close-ups. I haven't drawn a face on the monkeys coz I can't decide if they look better with or without a face... hmmmm...... I do love the coconuts... they're so cute. 

Monkeying around!

I got inspired by ThinkGeek's "Monkey Business" range (check them out here: http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/cubegoodies/a1a2/?srp=1) and made some sugarpaste monkeys this weekend. I also remembered to take photos this time so I'm able to share these step-by-step instructions on how to make a monkey face.... literally!

First, shape some dark brown sugarpaste into a ball and make a flat heart out of flesh coloured sugarpaste - you can use a small cookie cutter or just shape it. I find it quicker to just shape it.

Stick the heart on the brown ball using a bit of edible glue.

Make a small sausage out of flesh coloured sugarpaste - here's the size of the sausage in comparison to the face...

Using a shaping knife like this one, but if you don't have a shaping knife, any knife will do. Make a slit lengthwise but DON'T cut all the way through. It's like how you'd slit a hot dog bun, I suppose.

Stick the slit "hot dog bun" piece on the face with edible glue like this.... voila! You now have a monkey's mouth!

Using a ball tool like in this pic, make 2 indentions for the eyes.

Stick the eyes, again using edible glue. I use black nonpareils but you can just shape some tiny balls out of black sugarpaste or even the same dark brown sugarpaste used for the head (saves buying more sugarpaste). Make a tiny teardrop out of flesh coloured paste for the nose.

Position the nose like this...

Poke 2 holes for the nostrils. You can use a skewer instead of a shaping tool like what I have here.

Make 2 small balls out of flesh paste and attach to the sides for the ears. Use your skewer to make indentations to shape the earlobes.

Make 2 very tiny sausages out of flesh paste for the eyebrows.

Finished monkey face!

Big Giraffe

This is the biggest gumpaste figurine I've attempted. It's about 10 inches tall and took me 2 weekends to make because I had to stop in between stages to allow time for the gumpaste to harden before adding more to the giraffe. I started with an armature from a styrofoam cone. A skewer was threaded through the cone, then wrapped with yellow gumpaste.

After leaving the gumpaste to firm up, I attached the the limbs, and left the body to settle overnight. I attached the head and ears, then left the giraffe to harden. 

I attached the tail, the horns and final details and here it is.... my biggest figurine in comparison with my smallest (the bear is the mini cupcake topper size). 

Cake boulders

Mummy tried her hand at making cake pops. First, she baked a coconut cake, crumbed it up in Daddy's Magimix, then whipped up some raspberry frosting, mixed that in and shaped them into balls. Into the freezer for 30 mins, stuck a lollipop stick into the balls and dipped them into melted chocolate, and they came out rough as guts so she tried to cover it up with hundreds and thousands. It was hilarious and mummy was hysterical and daddy couldn't stop laughing. Nevertheless, mummy decided to bring them to work the next day and daddy said, "Better don't tell people you made them. Tell them Noah made them coz they look more like dog turd." Excuse me, that's kinda insulting and I feel quite offended by that.

But mummy and I had the last laugh coz people at work ate all her cake flops (as she called them) and asked for more. So mummy tried to made some more but they didn't turn out still. So she renamed them cake boulders and added some men in distress for added drama, like this......

These ones are men in distress coz they've been impaled with the lollipop stick. Mummy, you're sick in the head!

And these are mummy's finished men in distress drowning in decadent Koko Black chocolate frosting whirlpools. The cupcakes are rich Koko Black chocolate with chilli. She brought them to Unc Glenn's and he loved them coz he thought they looked like they're drowning in dog turd..... hmmm..... what's this fixation with dog turd???